


Swordfish Melody

by Mrs_Spooky



Category: Cowboy Bebop
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-11
Updated: 2016-01-28
Packaged: 2018-05-16 20:28:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5839882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mrs_Spooky/pseuds/Mrs_Spooky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sixteen year old Spike meets Doohan and faces a life-changing event.</p><p>This story takes place mostly on Earth, Doohan's property.</p>
          </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sixteen year old Spike meets Doohan and faces a life-changing event.
> 
> This story takes place mostly on Earth, Doohan's property.

# Swordfish Melody

## A Cowboy Bebop trifle by MrsSpooky

Background/assumptions:

Sixteen year old Spike meets Doohan and faces a life-changing event.

This story takes place mostly on Earth, Doohan's property.  

Cast of characters:  Spike, Doohan and ChowYan, Spike's chaperone, Dr Ryan and Chin, Spike's sensei.

_Posted date: 11-Apr-2010_

* * *

The Martians are coming. 

Mao Yenrai himself had called Doohan a month ago to inform him that he was being hired to finish his boys' flight training. The Red Dragon contracted with him to overhaul their various craft, corporate and personal because they liked him as he was a loner and he was discrete. Doohan didn't like people and didn't socialise with anyone but one or two other loners like himself. It helped too that his shop was out in the middle of nowhere, so their comings and goings would go largely unnoticed. In addition to being a master mechanic expert in everything that flies, he was an ace pilot himself. Doohan trained a number of system famous racing pilots, so it was only natural that the captain of the Red Dragon would want to utilise the man's skills on his own boys. 

Doohan grumbled that he was done teaching, but this 'request' was not one that could be refused. He would have the boys for six months, honing their skills. Yenrai assured him that the boys were bright and were already doing well with the training they've had so far and Doohan had to agree that it was best to teach them young, and of course nobody could teach pilots like he could. Sighing, he strode outside to wait. He hated Mao and the Red Dragon with a bitter passion, as they were infamous for recruiting children into their ranks. Taking in homeless kids was praisworthy, but what the syndicate did to their lives afterwards was unforgiveable. Now he was going to have to meet two more, the two that Yenrai had taken in himself. 

As much as he hated that organisation, the work he was doing WAS legal. They paid very well for his services, which enabled him to indulge his hobby of collecting and renovating antique air and space craft. He had his pride and joy, an asteroid speeder he named Swordfish II that he had built with what he had earned from them, so it DID have its perks.

The low rumble of the incoming transport ship The Singapore, reached his ears and it wasn't a long wait until it touched down on the border of his property. They had sent along tutors and 'other support staff' as Mao called them. _Goons no doubt, to keep an eye on them. What, are they afraid the boys would run away?_ He wouldn't blame them if they did.

A handsome well-dressed young Chinese man of about twenty-four years old exited the craft, walked up to him and introduced himself as ChowYan, the chaperone. He had a very polite professional manner that failed to put the grizzling pilot at ease. A sixteen year old lad followed close behind, wanting to meet his teacher. ChowYan apologised for having only the one, the other boy was injured in an accident a few days earlier and would not be able to attend, perhaps at a later time. With a grunt, Doohan looked him over. He was still growing, standing a full head shorter than him. ChowYan grabbed the boy affectionately by the scruff of the neck and introduced him as Spike, who greeted him politely. Doohan grunted in reply.

Spike was a very slender Japanese kid with a wild shock of unruly dark green hair and large brown eyes. Doohan shook his head, "You get settled, we'll start this afternoon, three pm SHARP." With that, he turned and stomped back to his workshop.

***

Spike and Vicious couldn't wait to meet Doohan! They were ecstatic when Mao informed them that they would be travelling to Earth for six months to learn from the best. Neither had been to Earth before. They had heard about it, but actually seeing the post-apocalyptic landscape and ruined moon for themselves was just too exciting for words, so neither boy slept much in the weeks leading up to the trip.

Of course this trip was not to be an excuse to slack off on their school work. Mao was sending tutors with them as well as their martial arts instructors and ChowYan was to go with them to chaperone. 

Plans went awry when Vicious crashed his motorcycle just days before they were supposed to leave. Rather than scuttle the entire arrangement they had with Doohan, Mao decided to send just Spike, Vicious could go later, after he healed. Spike promised him he'd bring him back a souvenir. 

Spike was warned by those who met the man that Doohan was not a friendly guy. "Grump" and "curmudgeon" were words used to describe him, along with "arrogant." _Don't take him personally_ , they said. This was good advice as he found, when in greeting, Doohan just grunted and said that they started at 3pm sharp.

His regular classes would be conducted aboard the Singapore, there being a space that could be used as a makeshift classroom. They had rented some floor space at Doohan's workshop to be used as a dojo for the boys to continue their martial arts training. The ship was equipped with sleeping quarters for the boys and the folks who travelled with them, so they could stay with hopefully minimal disruption to Doohan's operations.

Three pm rolled around and Spike was ready. Doohan met him and led him to the classroom that hadn't been used in several months.  Before he sent this kid up in one of his own craft he wanted to see for himself what the kid knew and what he could do. 

***

The lessons began, and Doohan found that Yenrai was right, the boy WAS quick. Testing him on what he was supposed to have learned already, he found that he had absorbed everything he needed to know and then some, and Doohan was pleased. He was also getting to know his young student and found that Spike was eager to learn, a joy for any teacher. The Japanese teen with his heavily-accented English was outgoing and didn't hesitate to ask questions. They were good questions too, mostly asking for clarification on certain points. Doohan found him to be a friendly and pleasant kid. 

Doohan had him for three weeks so far and was very pleased with his progress and almost despite himself, the grumpy guy found himself enjoying the young man's company. Spike smiled and joked a lot and didn't seem to be bothered by his surly manner. _I think this kid could get along with anyone,_ he thought. 

One morning, on his way into his workshop to continue with the overhaul he needed to do on a client's personal transport, he caught sight of his young student in his martial arts training. It looked like he was running through some drills, so he wandered over to watch for a bit and stood next to ChowYan who was there watching. The instructor was wearing a black gi, student in white, both wore a black belt around their waist. The instructor halted the drills then barked orders at him in Chinese. 

The two took a fighting stance, then the instructor attacked, the student parried and returned with attacks of his own. The instructor was not happy with Spike's performance, broke off the sparring and proceeded to angrily berate him. The boy stood at attention staring straight ahead, very unhappy. Doohan could see tears welling up in his eyes, which enraged the instructor even more. The older man hauled off and kicked the boy across the face, striking him high across the cheekbone and temple, knocking him on his ass. Furious, the boy sprang to his feet with his one eye squeezed shut and launched an attack with a ferocity that suprised Doohan. ChowYan had seen Doohan come up beside him and caught sight of  his enraged red face. 

"He started crying. Gotta break him of that," he said.

Doohan glared at him. ChowYan explained, "He wasn't aggressive enough, that's what Chin was yelling at him about. His technique is excellent, but he was being too defensive. Not only that, he should have blocked or at least dodged the kick." He lit a cigarette and blowing smoke, "Spike doesn't look it but he's hot-headed. The kid has a savage temper and Chin is trying to tap into that. Unfortunately, the only way he could piss him off enough to get what he wants out of him is to hurt him. Yelling just makes him cry, and we can't have that." Looking at Doohan's scowl he continued, "It doesn't happen often, but yeah, it's tough to watch. Martial arts. Sometimes people take a hit." Shrug.

Scowling, Doohan went back to work. Later that afternoon, Spike showed up for his lesson sporting a shiner, holding a bag of ice on his eye. 

"You all right?" 

"Yeah, fine. Thanks," the kid said. "I should have blocked it. Could have dodged, but I was too slow. It happens. That's why we practice, right?" 

Doohan briefly went over some of the high points of the previous day's lesson before taking him to the simulator. The boy already had flight experience, but Doohan was making sure of his skills before sending him up for real. Spike touched everything. Ran through the checks he was taught to make sure everything was set where it was supposed to be. Doohan started the simulation and Spike 'took off.' Laughing, he took off like a hot rod, soaring and banking.  The simulator kept up with the movements of the virtual machine, the take off pressing him back into the seat. 

"Ease off! Go easy till you get the feel of it." 

Obediently, Spike settled in a wobbly course to nowhere in particular. It seemed like everything he did resulted in a much larger response from the ship than he intended. _Damn, you only have to breathe on these controls and you're flying off in all directions._ Still talking, Doohan stressed getting the feel of the controls - some machines were more sensitive than others and needed a delicate hand. You have to get to know your machine if you want to stay in control. 

"I'm not one for delicate controls," Spike muttered.

He heard a grunt over his headset. "Bring her in for a landing, going to try something different." 

Swinging the virtual craft around, Spike brought the ship in a little too fast and sent it crashing into a pile of virtual shipping containers. "Oops!"  
  
"Good thing nobody was standing there!  You're gonna have to be able to control any vehicle you're flying, no matter what.  We'll be running this simulation again." 

Doohan punched some buttons on his console, loading another preset control system. "Ok, try this one." 

This time Spike took off a little more slowly. He found the controls to be responsive and a firm hand was needed. MUCH easier to control and he performed much better with this set. "This is PERFECT!  MUCH better.  I love these controls." Spike nearly shouted.  

Doohan grunted, "Thought so." 

Landing this craft, he narrowly avoided bumping into a few neighboring parked craft. Bringing him out, Doohan saw his student flushed with excitement.  He loved flying and even enjoyed the simulator. 

Doohan looked hard at him. The white of his right eye was completely blood red from where he took that blow to the face. "How does that eye feel?" 

"It hurts. It would. I was just ignoring it." 

There were tears tinged with red running out of it and down his cheek. Spike brought his hand up to brush them away. Before wiping it dry on his pants leg, he looked at it and saw the red, a look of shock mixed with fear on his face. Cursing, Doohan picked up his communicator and called ChowYan.  


 

   
  
---  
  
© 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016- stories by MrsSpooky are owned by MrsSpooky, but based on Cowboy Bebop. Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, the ship Bebop, images and cultural universe are owned by Sunrise Studios, Inc.  God bless you, Hajime Yatate!! The stories themselves and original characters not from the show are mine.  
             See you space cowboy ...    
  
---


	2. Chapter 2

Shit!!

ChowYan ran to meet them at the simulator, Spike was sitting holding a bandage over his eye, trying to hide the fear.  He looked at the bandage and saw the diluted blood and seepage soaking through.  They were prepared for emergencies, having noted the location of the nearest hospital.  It was an hour's drive, but Doohan had an antique helicopter all gassed up and ready to go that would take them all there in half the time.

Loading his charge into the helicopter, ChowYan and Doohan climbed in themselves and  lifted off.  Wrapping an arm about Spike's shoulders, ChowYan pulled out his communicator to notify Mao.  Setting up a relay with the Singapore, ChowYan was able to reach Mars and Mao Yenrai.  He was in a meeting, but ChowYan insisted,  "This is an emergency, I need to speak to him NOW!"  

Mao was on the line momentarily, irritated at the interruption, yet apprehensive about the emergency on Earth.  ChowYan filled him in on what had happened, that Spike was ok, but he had a blow to the eye and it looked to be seriously injured. They were taking him to St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix, Doohan was flying them there now.  Mao wanted to talk to Spike, who took the communicator.  He smiled wanly and waved.  

"How do you feel, son?  You ok?"  

"Yeah, gonna be ok.  Doctor's going to look at it, grunt then bandage it. I'll be fine."  

"Call me as soon as you get back."  

The hospital had already been contacted that they were on their way.  Mao contacted the hospital himself and transmitted authorisation to treat the boy that was on his way.  

The hospital was within sight when ChowYan gave his young charge a squeeze. "Everything's gonna be ok. They'll patch you up, it'll be fine." Spike nodded.  Landing as instructed, Doohan switched off the craft and the doors were opened to greet the personnel who were waiting to meet them.  They loaded Spike in a wheelchair and hurried him inside to the emergency room, Doohan and ChowYan right behind them.  The two men were made to stay in the waiting room while Spike was wheeled in back.

***

The doctor carefully peeled away the bandage covering the teen's eye and pried the eyelid open.  One look told the doctor that he was going to lose it, blood vessels had been broken and the outer lining of the eye had ruptured.  Blunt force trauma accounted for most of the damage.  The swelling and bruising in the area told him that the kid had been hit. _Abuse?_   

"Were you in a fight?" the doctor asked him.  

"Well sort of.  I'm in martial arts training.  Took a kick to the face.  Was supposed to block or dodge, but I missed. He didn't. It was an accident." 

"What did you do afterwards?"  

"Ummm... I'm in flight training.  Spent some time in a simulator, am I going to lose my eye?"  

The doctor sighed.  "I'm afraid so.  I'm sorry, son."   _The boy is probably Doohan's student_. Doohan was well known in the area and is legendary to those who follow aviation news. "The time spent in a simulator with that kind of injury most likely exacerbated the damage."

"Oh."

Spike swallowed.  "It's just a stupid accident.  Nobody knew my eye was hurt that bad.  Nobody's gonna get in trouble for this, are they?" 

The doctor reassured him that they weren't looking to get anyone in trouble, just wanted to know everything that happened between the time he recieved the injury to his appearance in the ER.  

"Just don't say anything about the simulator, ok?"  The doctor agreed. He had seen Doohan in the waiting area with a young Chinese guy, looking crankier than he'd been seen in a long time. 

A nurse came into the cubicle to take Spike's blood pressure.  The doctor went on, "We have authorisation from your guardian to treat you.  One of the things we can do is fit you with a cybernetic eye.  You have insurance that will cover it.  How does that sound?"  

"Do I have much of a choice?"  
  
"A glass eye that you can't see with."  
  
"I'll take the cybernetics please."

***  


There were eyes in stock, but nothing matching Spike's color.  Inquiries with other medical centers turned up nothing that was any closer match than the brown cybernetic eyes that they already had. Surgery was arranged and would be performed within a few hours.  Sighing, the doctor left the examination area to talk to Doohan and the young man with him, a Martian like his patient from the looks of him.  The two men rose when he entered the waiting area.  

"I'm Doctor Ryan, I'm treating Spike for his eye injury."  In response to their questions, he said, "I'm afraid he's lost the eye. We are going to fit him with a cybernetic device that has greater visual capabilities than the natural human eye, so he will be able to see with it.  Unfortunately, it won't be an exact match for his natural eye, so from now on, his eyes won't match.  Spike seems to be ok with that."  

The young Martian paled, Doohan's scowl deepened. 

"How soon can we see him?" ChowYan asked the doctor.  

"Not until tomorrow. He's being prepped for surgery now.  We'll keep him overnight, but he'll need a few days of rest afterwards before resuming his normal activities. Go get something to eat.  Get some sleep. He'll be here overnight at least."  Ryan turned and left leaving the two men standing there. 

"I'm going back to the compound.  You coming?"  

ChowYan stood undecided.  He didn't want to leave Spike and would have been fine with sleeping on the couch in the waiting room. Finally he agreed to return to the compound.  He needed to fill the others in on what happened and he wouldn't be allowed to see Spike before tomorrow anyway.  The hospital had his number and would call if anything happened.

Evening was rapidly approaching and the trip back to Doohan's compound was a silent one, both men lost in their own thoughts.  ChowYan had known Spike since he himself was a teen and loved him like a kid brother.  _I was supposed to be taking care of him and THIS happened!_   For his part, Doohan was furious with the syndicate for putting a young kid into a position where such an injury was possible.  He had known martial artists, and their instructors never brutalised them when they were learning.  _They need to toughen up a sweet kid to do what, terrorise and kill people?_  

ChowYan climbed aboard the Singapore and called the tutors and crew together to fill them in on Spike's condition since they knew he was taken to the hospital, and were anxiously awaiting news of his condition. The news ChowYan gave them was received soberly.  "Have you told Mao?" asked the pilot.  

ChowYan sighed, "Not yet.  I'm calling him as soon as we're done here."

Chin, Spike's Kung Fu instructor, was stoic.  He hadn't intended to injure the boy when he kicked at him.  He was expecting Spike to dodge or block the blow, as had been done before on more than one occasion.  _Maybe the excitement of learning to fly had distracted him,_ he thought.

Not relishing the duty, ChowYan called Mao, waking him up to fill him in on what was happening with Spike.  He looked shaken, but accepted the news calmly,  "Keep me informed," he said.

Doohan entered his home and turned on the lights.  After a light dinner, he poured himself  a drink, then went out back to watch the rise of the Earth's ruined moon over the horizon.

***

It was nearly noon when ChowYan received the call that Spike can recieve visitors.  They wanted to hold him another night for observation, but they were optimistic that he'd be allowed to leave the next day.  He used the rental car the Red Dragon had arranged and drove to the hospital to see Spike.  Entering his room he found the teen lying in his bed, flipping channels on the vid screen in his room.  There was a bandage over his eye, the bruise from the blow he had received the day before was visible.  Spying ChowYan, Spike smiled in cheerful greeting.  ChowYan smiled in return, "Hey kid, how you feeling?"  

"Not bad!  It's kinda sore, but they say I'll be able to see with it. They said the vision with this eye will be better than the real thing. Hey, maybe I should get the other one replaced too." 

"Let's not get crazy here, youngster!"  ChowYan cuffed his shoulder affectionately then sat down and got serious.

"I'm so sorry. Nobody meant for that to happen. Everyone's worried about you and send their best."  

Spike sobered a bit.  "Thanks.  It's going to be ok.  It's not the end of the world.  Can't change what's happened, right?"

They spoke for a bit until Doctor Ryan came in accompanied by a nurse.  ChowYan rose to make room for the doctor who was there to remove the bandage over Spike's eye.  The cybernetic eye was attached to his optic nerve and would send impulses to his brain to interpret as images, the muscles that control the eye were attached to it, so with a little practice, it should track normally, just like his natural eye. It will take a little time for him to be able to focus both images together, but it will get there. The bandage was removed and the doctor examined it closely. He was healing nicely and there shouldn't be any scarring. Tear ducts weren't damaged and after a short healing period would be functioning normally.  ChowYan looked at the results and tried to hide the shock.  

The right side of Spike's face was still bruised and swollen, and the eye's lids were swollen and irritated from the surgery, that was to be expected, but the eye itself.... It was brown like his natural eye, but different.  This looked like it wouldn't even match an anglo's eye.  It was noticeably lighter than what it should have been for Spike's race. He was having a little trouble focusing it, but the doctor said it was expected. Soon he will be able to focus it like he was born with it.  

Spike wanted to see it, so the nurse produced a mirror so he could see himself.  He looked, an expression akin to shock on his face at the unfamiliar image looking back at him.  

"Your body still needs to heal and learn how to control the implant," the doctor told him.  "You're going to have to get used to having eyes that don't match also, but at least you can see."  

Spike nodded, serious now.

***

The next day, Spike was released to ChowYan's care and was given medication to take twice a day to speed the healing process.  Arriving back at the Singapore, he was greeted warmly by his tutors, martial arts instructor and crew who did an admirable job of hiding their reactions to the boy's newly mismatched eyes.  His first day back was exhausting, so he followed the doctor's orders to rest and went to bed, falling instantly asleep. He roused to eat, take care of biological needs and to take his medication.  Two days later, he was feeling better, even if he WAS still seeing double.  The images were beginning to converge, but it will be at least a week before he'll be able to see normally and resume his flight training.

Calling Mao, Spike filled him in on how he was doing.  

"Come home," Mao said. "You can recuperate here then go back once you're fully healed and ready to resume your training." 

Spike refused, pleading,  "I just need a little time to get used to this new eye.  I can do this, please let me finish this thing I've started. I promise I won't let you down."  Mao caved. He loved Spike dearly, and knew that he DIDN'T want to let him down.  _As long as Doohan is willing to have him around, he can stay._

Reading was difficult, and he was advised by his doctors not to close one eye to focus on the page he was trying to read. He and ChowYan had talked about everything there was to talk about, so Spike wandered off to explore Doohan's compound.  He was fascinated by the antique air and space craft he found there.  _This guy has quite a collection! He fixes this stuff up? He's good!_   

Doohan was heavily involved in maintenance of his speeder when he heard the sounds of unsteady footsteps headed his way.  He half turned and saw his young student approaching.  Spike knew that Doohan was not a social creature but Spike was, so the teen found a box to perch himself on and greeted him..  He missed his flight instructor and wanted to spend time with him. 

Doohan barked a greeting then went back to his work.  Pissed off, Doohan was busier than normal now that his latest assistant had quit.  _Pansies all of them. Such a mass of sensitivities, if they can't hack it, I don't want them!_    He stole time to work on his own machines, which were his real passion.

"What are you working on?" Spike asked him. He had seen the speeder Doohan was working on in passing but hadn't given it much thought beyond admiration of its form.  

Doohan didn't pause in his work. "Swordfish II.  She needs a tuneup."

Spike cheated and closed his natural eye briefly to get a good look at it with his cybernetics.  Details jumped out at him besides just the form, color and design.  Is that a flaw in the metal on the starboard wing?  "What's that on the starboard wing? That piece near the body?" 

Scowling, Doohan inspected the section of wing he pointed out and found a hairline crack in the metal and that it was going to have to be replaced.  _Shit!_   He turned and glared at  his teenaged peanut gallery.  The peanut gallery smiled cheerfully back at him.   Doohan had a spare and made a note to replace it.  Wiping his hands on a rag, he turned to face the teen he was teaching who had just lost his eye.  

Deciding to take a break, Doohan pulled up a box of his own and parked his own ass.  Spike had pulled out a cigarette and lit up. _Sixteen and smoking.  Goddamn!_   "So, when are you going to be able to resume your training?" 

Spike shrugged and said it would be probably a week or so, as he was still seeing double with the new eye. "As soon as I can focus them both together, I should be back in business."  

"I want to stay and finish this," he continued.   "Mao wants me back home, but as long as our staying longer than planned isn't a problem, I'd rather stay and finish my training. That's going to be up to you though, I don't want to overstay my welcome." 

Doohan didn't think it would be possible for this kid to overstay his welcome.

"Stay as long as you need.  Shit, nobody's gotten in my way.  If you want to finish your training, and nobody interferes with my work, then stay!"  

Spike seemed satisfied with that answer, even pleased. Doohan couldn't take his eyes off the kid's face.  It was still half blackened and swollen from the kick he took and the eye embedded in the battered face not matching the other.  It was... disconcerting.  The battered face smiled.  

Doohan found himself disturbed and against his better judgement had to ask, "You just lost an eye to a stupid accident. You ok with that?"

Spike puffed his cigarette for a moment, blowing smoke, thinking about it. "I can't change what happened so there's no point in dwelling on it.  We spend so much time worrying about the big things that can happen in life when it's the little, stupid things that creep up and bite us on the ass.  You know?  Besides, the eyes not matching?  It's actually kinda cool."  

Turning his attention back to the Swordfish II, Spike asked Doohan where he got it. Happy with the change of subect, he answered proudly, "Swordfish II. Built it myself. This is the fastest asteroid speeder ever built!" He went on and described the specifications and told Spike about the trophy it won him in a race he won two years ago.  Impressive! "I don't take her out much any more.  Damn assistants keep quitting on me and it's all I can do just to keep up with everything." Spike raised his eyebrows.  Now that he thought about it, there WAS someone else he saw working here when he first got here, but he hadn't seen him around.

"Is there a Swordfish I?"  

Doohan nodded, "There was.  It's in pieces all over the Mojave."

"Oh.  Well, thanks for talking with me. I need to work on my English and I don't hear much of it back home."  Doohan looked surprised. "Your English is fine. Quite a bit of an accent, but nobody could have problems understanding you."  

Spike grinned. "Accent is ok, but I'd like to lose it.  The more I speak it, the better I get at it."

Doohan leaned forward, "Speaking of language, I have a question for YOU. How do you say 'fuck off' in Japanese?"  The boy looked crestfallen. "No, I'm not telling YOU to fuck off goddamnit. I just wanted to know how to say it in Japanese."

Spike grinned, "The word is uzendayo. Ooz ehhn dah yo. Hold the 'eh' sound for a half second."

Doohan: "Uzendayo, uzendayo..." Spike laughed. Hard.  He wasn't used to hearing his instructors using profanities. 

Spike stood, stretching. "Do you know where I can get some souveniers?  I promised Vicious I'd bring him back something since he couldn't make it.  I don't want to bring back just a piece of moon rock."  

Doohan returned to his work with a grunt. "Vicious.  Is that his real name or a nickname?"  

When Spike told him it was really his name he asked, "Who the hell would name their kid 'Vicious'?"  

Spike shrugged, "His father I guess.  Vicious told me about him.  I think there was something wrong with the guy."  

"Ya THINK?"

Picking up a wrench and applying it to a bolt on the wing, Doohan said, "There might be something in Phoenix.  Depends on what you want, we don't get many tourists."

 

   
  
---  
  
© 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016- stories by MrsSpooky are owned by MrsSpooky, but based on Cowboy Bebop. Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, the ship Bebop, images and cultural universe are owned by Sunrise Studios, Inc.  God bless you, Hajime Yatate!! The stories themselves and original characters not from the show are mine.  
             See you space cowboy ...    
  
---


	3. Swordfish Melody 3 of 3

Over the course of a week, Spike was able to focus his eyes into a single image.  Things looked.... different. The cybernetic eye could see more details than his natural eye could, almost as if  it can zoom in and magnify and his peripheral vision was astounding.  He could look straight ahead and clearly see what was on his right, almost behind himself if his hair didn't get in the way.

Doohan wanted him in the simulator some more to work on flying the ship with the delicate controls.  He managed to compensate for their light touch and found he was able to maneuver it with ease but he still preferred that other preset that Doohan had provided.  It just felt more natural to him.

It was time for actual flight and Doohan provided his student with a personal craft for him to fly, the one with the delicate controls.  He was showing promise with that type of craft and he wanted to see him in action.  He lept into the Swordfish II and followed the teen into the air, barking instructions on where he wanted him to go and what maneuvers to try.  Spike performed them all flawlessly, like he was born with the controls in his hands.  Doohan took him up to the stratosphere, just before entering what is technically outer space.  It wasn't safe to fly too much higher with the lunar debris and other litter from damaged satellites orbiting the planet.

This was one time Doohan wished they were on Mars because it would be a hell of a lot safer for the kid to fly there than it is here.  Falling debris was always a problem and there was no predicting when a collision between two or more of them would send one hurtling to Earth.  Doohan was flying close behind Spike and was about to order a return to land when a piece of falling satellite was spotted directly in Spike's path.  The boy swerved to miss it, then went back and resumed his previous flight path, Doohan nodding with approval. Spike asked if he could try something and said he would need some room.  Doohan flew out of the way, circling the area above Spike and told him to go ahead.  

Suddenly, Spike engaged reverse thrusters and brought his craft to a full stop, then circled around, rolling it, then full speed forward,looking like he was responding to an imaginary attack. Doohan hadn't engaged in aerial combat, but he'd seen enough videos of actual battles that he recognised what Spike was doing.  Those were some very skilled maneuvers the boy was doing and almost against his will, Doohan was impressed.

It was time to get back, so Doohan directed his student back to the compound, allowing Spike to lead the way.  He found his way there without any issues and executed a perfect landing.  They jumped to the ground, Doohan approaching Spike, "Where did you learn those moves you did up there?  Those were pretty advanced."  

Spike admitted that he and his brother Vicious would stage aerial battles in a pair of tethered simulators.  "We don't collide with each other so much any more, " he laughed.

The remainder of Spike's time on Earth passed without incident.  He learned takeoffs and landings under different conditions, emergency maneuvers and advanced navigation, needed if one were going to travel from one colony to another.

The day before he was scheduled to leave for home, Doohan was on his way into his workshop when he heard Chin barking orders in Chinese.  It was a daily occurrance, Spike and Chin going at it, Chin correcting and guiding his student.  Doohan paused on his way in and found them deep into their sparring class, Spike putting up a ferocious fight. He even landed one along the side of the instructor's head.  _Payback._   Doohan decided that whatever this young man decided to do, he was going to be the best at it.  

The next day, the dojo equipment was packed up and loaded aboard the Singapore, so he had his floor space back.  Two assistants had come and gone and Doohan was again on his own, even moreso now that his student was leaving.  _Bah.  It'll be good to have the place to myself again.  Fuckin' Martians anyway._

Spike found him tinkering with the Swordfish II and wandered over to say goodbye and thanks for everything!  "Hey Doohan, I hate to ask, but would it be possible to get the presets you were using for that simulated spacecraft I was flying?  The one with the not so touchy controls?  I want to see if I can find one like that some day."  

Doohan looked at him oddly and told him to wait.  He entered the building then emerged a few minutes later with a disc and held it out to the boy, then pulled it back as he reached for it.  

"I want you to do something for me."  

"What's that?"  

"If you ever find yourself over your head in a bad situation - a situation you don't like, you get out.  Understand? Leave.  Run.  Got it?"  

Confused, Spike said he would, but what's he talking about?  Doohan just grunted, handed him the disc then whirled around and headed back into his workshop.

***

The Singapore lifted off and set its course home to Mars.  Spike listened to his tutors and ChowYan chatting about getting home again and back to their normal lives. They had friends and family to catch up on and were looking forward to spending time in their own homes again.  Spike was looking forward to getting home himself.  He had a chance to travel the continent a bit and found a samurai figurine in San Francisco's Chinatown that was actually MADE in China, where roughly half of the Martian population came from originally.  He thought Vicious would like that.  

Spike peered at his reflection in the port hole and noted with satisfaction that the bruising and swelling was gone from the side of his face, and he was back to normal. Well, almost normal. _I have a NEW 'normal' now_ , he thought, checking out his mismatched eyes.

Arriving home, Spike presented the samurai to Vicious, who loved it. Vicious couldn't take his eyes off him, saying jokingly that the eyes gave him the creeps and it was the coolest thing ever.  Mao hugged him tighly, commenting that he had grown at least six inches in the time he was away. "You're taller than I am now!"  He asked what he thought of Doohan.  

"I didn't think he was as grouchy as everyone said he was.  Yeah, he can be kinda rude, but just don't take him personally."  Spike liked him a lot and knew he was going to miss the grumpy guy.  Mao handed him a catalog of personal aircraft to pick something out that he would want.  Vicious had already made his selection which he proudly displayed. Spike checked it out and declared it cool.  He told Mao he would study it and let him know which one he wanted.

A week went by, and in the rush of catching up with friends and acquaintences, Spike had forgotten all about the personal craft that Mao wanted him to pick out.  He was out with friends one sunny Saturday afternoon, then arriving home, Mao met him at the door, saying there was a surprise for him.  Mao led him to the private parking garage next door and loaded Spike into the elevator and took it up to the roof.  There, parked on the left was the Swordfish II!!  Spike rubbed his eyes, he turned, excited.  

"Doohan's here?? Where is he?"  

Mao shook his head, "It was delivered early this afternoon, addressed to you.  This was with it," he added, handing Spike the envelope he was carrying.

Spike took a few steps away, tearing into the envelope.  It contained a note from Doohan:

_Spike,_

_I hope you enjoy the Swordfish II.  I'm getting too old to fly something as flashy as this and she needs a younger person at the controls.  You're the only pilot I've seen in the last few years who is worthy to fly her.  Take care of her and she'll take care of you._

_Don't worry about being able to control her - you've been flying her for the last six months in the simulator._

_If you want to add weapons, bring them here with the Swordfish II and I'll install them.  Hell, stop by again any time._

_Doohan_

_PS:  Remember what I told you..._

 

   
  
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© 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016- stories by MrsSpooky are owned by MrsSpooky, but based on Cowboy Bebop. Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, the ship Bebop, images and cultural universe are owned by Sunrise Studios, Inc.  God bless you, Hajime Yatate!! The stories themselves and original characters not from the show are mine.  
             See you space cowboy ...    
  
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